That is democracy.

Before the Minister of State responds, I am under strict instructions from Senator Clifford-Lee to give a warm welcome to very important guests in the Visitors Gallery, the students from Ardgillan Community College in Balbriggan and their teachers, Mr. Walsh and Ms McGuinness. You are very welcome.

I have a question. Regarding the genetic relative, is it not very important for the illegally registered people who have no files to have the genetic link in the Bill? I am seeking clarity there. The genetic part is very important for the illegally registered.

Following on from Senator Seery Kearney's comments, including the term "illegal" in the legislation would set a really high bar. All of us would love to see people being held to account for all of these wrongs. I do not believe anybody in this House would say that someone who illegally registered births should not be held accountable. Amendment No. 14 proposes a list of cases that would be considered an illegal adoption. This would exclude an awful lot of the people involved because so many of those illegally regis…

I would like to speak about the issue of illegality. In law, the term "illegal" is the end point. Something is deemed illegal at the end point in a court of law. To pre-empt something as illegal is to predetermine a judgment. Is it not the case that the term “false and misleading” is already in our legislation under the Civil Registration Act? That is just the term that is used. If something is deemed “false and misleading”, under a court of law it can be deemed illegal. This is because the judgment of illegality i…

The Minister is very welcome to the House. It is great to have him here. He attended a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth earlier today. I listened to the proceedings. The Minister made a strong contribution on the Ukrainian crisis and I thank him for that. I welcome the opportunity to speak on childcare. We have to recognise the significant lived difficulties families are facing as a result of the lack of childcare and its significant cost. The availa…

There are an awful lot of issues I would like to discuss but I will raise a local issue this morning regarding Irish Water. The people of the Cooley Peninsula have been struggling with water pressure. I have been ignored by Irish Water for nearly two years now. I am not getting any help or assistance and have been gaslit, which I suppose is the popular word, by the organisation, which told me it was going to raise pressure and did not do so. There are people in the Cooley Peninsula who cannot even work their shower…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I wish him a belated happy Europe Day. Today is important for reflecting on what 9 May means. It is important that we celebrate our membership of the European Union as citizens of Ireland and of the European Union, and as a nation with a proud tradition of being in the European Union. We should look at the European project in its entirety and always look objectively, as Senator Flynn said, at how we can improve the lives of people who may have been left behind, wh…

Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh Gníomhaigh. The Minister is very welcome to the House. It is a really important day. We all know this Bill is long overdue. I am nervous about this contribution because it is so important. We have really important people with us today and I acknowledge their presence. We do not have enough of them, to be honest. I am distracted by the Minister's apology. I am also distracted by the fact there are very few people in our Visitors Gallery today when it should be overflowing with peo…

I want to stand to support my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, in her Department. We have to be very clear. It is a very sad state of affairs when a Minister of State requests a meeting with employees under her remit and that access is denied. We need to be very serious about these things. The independent republic of the HSE will have to come into the reality of our democracy and should be answerable to the Minister and accountable to all of us as politicians and citizens of the country. On a posi…

This morning, the Minister for Rural and Community Development launched the 2022 Tidy Towns competition and I wish all the Tidy Towns committees the very best of luck. I congratulate them on all their tireless work every week to make our towns and villages and byroads and high roads aesthetically better. They foster such community spirit and greatly improve our communities. Nevertheless, I would like a debate to be held on the circular economy and the lack of ambition in the new Circular Economy, Waste Management (…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I congratulate my colleague, Senator Malcolm Byrne, on bringing forward this Bill. It is long overdue. When one considers the history of this country and the men and women who wore this uniform, it is a Bill of respect. It is about standing up for democracy, being proud of our soldiers and institutions and standing tall alongside our Army and democratic institutions. I am deeply saddened that the name Óglaigh na hÉireann has been disrespected and dishonoured for decades by terro…

I also congratulate our new Senator, Tom Clonan. I look forward to working with him in the coming years. I welcome the Government's announcement of a basic level of income for artists but I want to link that to what was in the news today with regard to our carers and how they deserve a basic level of income. No carer should be at risk of poverty because he or she is a carer. Everyone deserves some sort of financial security. A basic level of income for our carers is one way to provide that security and to help our …

I, too, send my deepest condolences to the Fitzpatrick family and our colleague, Mary, on the death of our former colleague Dr. Dermot Fitzpatrick. It is a very difficult time for all of them. I stand today to call for a debate on energy security and the cost of energy. I would like the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to come to the Chamber to talk about what the Government is doing and can do to support families. I know it is a really complex issue in one way but there is also a moral issue. We must have a discussion…

It is so important that we are discussing this issue today. It is really hard to believe that our Ukrainian friends are facing such atrocities and horrors and are the victims of Putin's Hitler-style murder and destruction. I congratulate the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, on the work they and the Department are doing in respect of our response and thank him for the clear update in his speech. I also congratulate the Government on its leadership. The way this Government has acted alongside our …

I welcome the Minister of State. I am very glad to get an opportunity to speak about this topic of the deposit return scheme. It is a concept that has potential to enable an entirely new way that people look at packaging and create new, positive habits for our country. It is a gateway to an entirely new way of consuming goods and reimagining the concept of packaging. I am sure that some of us remember running around as children and lifting any glass bottles that we could find in order to sell them back to the shops…

The poor frogs.

As the saying goes, I have a dream. I have a dream that our waste and packaging will not be perceived as waste, rather as a valuable part of our economy for which there is always a use. We spend substantial amounts on picking up waste. Councils' resources are stretched by picking up rubbish. It is not rubbish, however, but a valuable product that we should always utilise. The Minister of State has the support of Fianna Fáil in pushing for a reuse model for packaging throughout the commercial and small business sect…

Before we move on to the next Commencement matter, I warmly welcome two Galwegians in the Visitors Gallery, Councillor Alan Cheevers and his good friend Frank Owusu, who is a community activist. They are very welcome to Seanad Éireann.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan.